December ’11

Dearest Fountaineers:
The brisk air about us spills with a fluency of light. The brightness that eddies and swirls amid our eyes is not of earthly realms, but is instead the ethereal plasma of the meta-physic; it is the collective concentrate of our hearts’ ambition to be kind and caring, loving and charitable. This luminous material disperses like fog, emanating like billowing puffs of train smoke from the radiant pulsations of the good that resides in each waking heart. At this time of year, goodness culminates from ev’ry soul, coalescing into a lit and rushing river of loving intention. At 116 Market Street we have engineered a sort of water-lock mechanism to channel and put to work this flow of good cheer that each heart transmits. We cycle this happy spirit through the sweets that we craft, the ice cream that we hand-prepare, and the delicacies that we make for the sake of your full enjoyment.
So what goods, you might ask, have we to offer this holiday season? Why, we’ve several different items sure to surge your soul with Christmas glee. Take, for example, this month’s featured soda: Julmust Christmas Soda. This soft drink is a Christmastime preparation of the Swede. Each year in Oslo this beverage outsells the mighty soda tycoon that is Coca-Cola. In Swedish, “Jul” means “Yule” or Christmas, and “must” means soda, so it is literally transcribed as “Christmas Soda”. Please stop by to have some for yourself; you’ll be in keeping with the tradition of the friendly Swedish country-folk.
Speaking of long-standing traditions, the John Wanamaker organ– the largest organ in the entire world– will be celebrating its one hundred year anniversary of piping out tuneful renditions of great Christmas melodies. In order to help celebrate its centennial, we at the shop have concocted the “John Wanamaker EVERGREEN Ice Cream Soda”. This flavorful drink is made of homemade chocolate soda, our seasonal Peppermint-stick Ice Cream, and it is crowned with broken bits of our Franklin Mint Chocolate Bark. Its refreshing flavor stays fresh regardless of the outdoor temperature. We hope that you top your season off with this celebratory beverage.
While on the subject of seasonal toppings, let’s engage in a warm discussion about homemade jarred toppings: rich Franklin Fudge, Caramel, and Peanut Butter. These jarred toppings will be available for purchase as a pack. They make great holiday gifts, and they merit their own weight as terrific stocking stuffers.
One other meritorious item that we will be featuring this month is our Poached Pear Sorbet. This cool treat breathes with wisps of faintly-traced boiled white wine, and the fruity pear flavor is the effused overtone that distends throughout the body of its taste. Stop by our shop to lay your claim to this highly-valued poire glace.
Need an additional gift for that special someone? Don’t fret or worry, we will (as we do every year) be making our Clear Toy Candy! These little glass-like sculptures are beauteous and elegant; they are focal points for table discussion as banquet pieces and they taste delicious, too. Pick one up, or several, for whomever you want to bestow an especially lovely gift to.
Listen to the snare drums rolling in anticipatory paradiddles! Hear the brassy fanfare of trumpets resound through the air! What do these festive sounds indicate? why, it’s the grand re-opening of the Shane Confectionery, America’s Oldest Candy Store. Yes, Yes! Since 1863 confectioners have spent toilsome hours engaging in the candymaking craft on the floorboards of 110 Market Street, and this month we will be re-opening Shane Confectionery with a celebration most grand! ON MONDAY DECEMBER 5TH at 10:30am, our Honorable Mayor Michael Nutter will be there to cut the sapphire ceremonial ribbon, and the candy kingdom will be back open for business. Stop by to relive old memories of purchasing your favorite holiday Butter-creams, or arrive as a newcomer to taste the widest array of confections that you will find in Philadelphia. Our candy kitchen is sleek, our fudge cauldrons are boiling, and our pastry chef Davina Soondrum and her candymaking team are hard at work to restore hard-earned and time-won prestige to the shop grounds.
Well, that’s about all for now, dear readers. We hope that this season brings enkindled warmth to your heart, and that merriment finds you well this winter.
With a warm heart and a cool head,
The Franklin Fountain